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MEXICAN 
MOONLIGHT 

RUSSELL  MERIWETHER  HUGHES 


; 


BOSTON 

RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE   GORHAM    PRESS 


\ 


Copyright,  1921,  by  Russell  M.  Hughes 
All  Rights  Reserved 


MADE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA 
THE  GORHAM  PRESS,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


To 
DAVID  A.  NEWCOMER 


M191957 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Love  Song 9 

Mexican  Moonlight   10 

The  Canyon  Trail   15 

Spring   Enchantment    18 

In  the  Shadows 19 

The  Desert   22 

Romance  Rides   23 

The   Broken   String    25 

Idle  Dusk   26 

Desolation    27 

This  Time  Last  Year 28 

To  H.  M 30 

La  Casa  Grande 31 

Why    33 

A  Cowboy  to  a  Wire  Fence 34 

Envy    35 

Color 36 

Rajham  Khan's  Song 37 

"Yaller"    38 


MEXICAN  MOONLIGHT 


Mexican  Moonlight 


LOVE  SONG 

If  you  could  love  me  half  as  much, 

O,  my  dear,  my  dear, 
Within  the  swaying  hours  of  all 

The  long,  sweet  year, 
As  I  love  you  within  the  falling 

Of  one  tear, 
I  think  I  could  be  satisfied, 

O,  my  dearest  dear! 


Mexican  Moonlight 


MEXICAN  MOONLIGHT 
(ETCHINGS) 

i 

The  clouds  of  your  blue-black  hair 
Crowd, 
Heavy, 

About  the  bright  moon 
Of  your  face 

When  you  lift  your  star-spangled  comb. 
I  feel  a  storm  of  passion 
Gathering  over  me ! 

2 

A  CHILD) 

Madre, 

Does  the  moon 
Chant  lullabies? 
Or  is  it  only 
The  crickets 
Singing? 


Mexican  Moonlight 


3 

The  midsummer  moon 

Laughing  over  the  lacy  tree-top* 

Is  like  your  piquant, 

White  face 

Above  your  black  mantilla. 

4 

There  is  a  southwind 
And  a  full  moon  to-night. 

The  moon  and  the  wind 
Sicken  my  heart  within  mf 
For  things 
That  have  been 
And  cannot  be. 

5 

The  mocking-bird 
Is  chanting  melodies, 
But  I  do  not  hear  him, 
For  your  voice 
Is  throbbing 
Beneath  my  casement, 


fi 


Mexican  Moonlight 


And  when  it  ceases 

I  pray 

The  rose  I  have  thrown 

Has  kissed 

The  lips  I  have  never  seen, 

O,  my  Caballero! 

6 

A  gili-monster 
Crouches  under  the  lily, 
And  I  carry  a  stilleto 
In  my  garter 
Lest  your  love  waver. 

7 

(THE  HUNCH-BACK) 
The  cactus-plant  blossoms 
Red  and  yellow. 
I  love  you. 

8 

My  heart  breaks  for  you. 
But 

To-day's  butterfly 
Is  dead 
To-morrow. 

12 


Mexican  Moonlight 


9 

To  die  is  happy. 
The  moonlight  silvers  the  grass 
The  southwind  whispers 
Thru  sick-sweet 
Magnolias. 

The  lover  singing  to  the  senorita 
In  the  casa  next  to  mine 
Hums  the  song 
You  sang. 

10 

(THE  CHILD) 
To-night  the  moon 
Is  a  great,  new 
Tortilla. 
But  soon 

The  wind  will  have  eaten  it 
Bite  by  bite, 
All  away. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


II 

The  Senora  is  fairer 

Than  you. 

But. 

The  moon  is  cold 

And  the  little  stars 

Are  more  desirable. 

12 

The  crescent  moon 
Rises  from  the  billows 
Of  the  purple  clouds. 
So  might  your 
Naked  beauty 
Rise  from  the  pillows 
Of  your  couch. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


THE  CANYON  TRAIL 

There's   a   trail   we   all   must   travel   leadin'   to   a 

canyon  edge 
And  th'  bottom  o'  th'  canyon  is  lost  in  endless 

night, 
An'  we  tremble  at  th'  shadows  as  we  peer  across 

th'  ledge 

For  th'  other  wall  is  nothingness,  pierced  once 
with  beacon-light. 

But  we  know  that  thar  is  sumthin'  on  th'  canyon's 

other  side, 
For  th'  learned  folks,  they  tell  us,  an'  besides,  our 

hearts,  they  know. 

But  I  often  sit  an'  wonder  if  it's  like  th'  trail  I  ride 
Thru  th'  wavin'  grass  in  springtime,  when  th' 
winds  thet  chuckle,  blow. 

They  hev  promised  that  it's  "fairer  far  than  aught 

upon  this  earth." 
'Pears  tu  me  that's  right  impossible,  'cause  ridin' 

o'  th'  plains 

Forever  an'  forever  is  lots  more  than  I  am  worth, 
Since  they   promised  we'd  be   free  of   fleas  an' 
snakes  an'  "fleshly  pains." 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Fill  yur  pipe  an'  think  about  it,  pardner,  wakin'  up 

tu  find 

A  pony  waitin'  fer  yu,  nickerin'  with  ears  stuck  up, 
Hearin'  leather  creak,  an'  hoof-beats,  an'  a  sun  a- 

smilin'  kind 

Dawn-wind  blowin'  an'  yur  cayuse  frettin*  like 
a  playful  pup. 

Watch  th'  praries  rollin'  westward,  lost  in  gold  an' 

ruby  bars, 
An'  th'  moon  a-risin',  smilin'  like  th'  lady  o'  yur 

heart ; 
An'  yu  lie  down  by  yur  camp-fire,  thet's  a-winkin' 

at  th'  stars 

Feel  th'  dew  come  thru  th'  sky's  coat  where  th' 
linin's  ripped  apart. 

Singin'  songs  an'  tellin'  stories  with  th'  boys  thet's 

gone  before. 
Ropin'  long-horned  Texas  cattle  (tho'  they  don't 

deserve  tu  go!) 
Wond'rin'  at  this  old  world's  beauty.     Reckon  I 

don't  want  no  more, 

Sittin'  easy-like  an'  watchin'  where  th'  herd  is 
millin*  slow. 


16 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Halos  wuzn't  made  tu  fit  me.     Rather  hev  my 

Stetson  hat, 

An'  I'm  much  too  thin  an  ugly  tu  wear  "th'  gar- 
ments white." 
Drinkin'  milk  an'  eatin'  honey — Hell!  I  couldn't 

live  on  that! 

An'  think  o'  singing  hyms  an'  playin'  harps  all 
day  an'  night! 

Reckon  He  has  got  us  branded,  an'  He'll  herd  us 

tu  th'  place 
Where  we  fit  in  best — an*  pardner,  I  jes'  hope 

my  brand  is  right 
When  I  pull  my  pony's  head  up,  an'  finish  with 

th'  race 

An*   cross  th'   gloomy   canyon   tu   th'   streak  o* 
beacon-light. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


SPRING  ENCHANTMENT 

Under  the  soft  enchantment  of  the  spring 
We  sat  beneath  a  blossoming  cherry-tree, 

And  from  the  open  book  upon  your  lap 
You  read  an  ancient  poet's  lines  to  me. 

The  poem  was  all  of  spring,  and  lovers'  loves. 

Softly  I  took  the  hand  upon  your  knee 
And  kissed  it.     All  unknowing,  you  read  on. 

And  yet — you  read  the  same  line  thrice  to  me. 


18 


Mexican  Moonlight 


IN  THE  SHADOWS 

In  the  shadows  of  the  canyon  rides  a  cowboy,  loping 

slow, 

And  his  scarlet  scarf  is  flapping, 
And  his  leather  chaps  are  slapping 
And  he  times  his  pony's  hoof-beats  with  a  song  he's 
singing  low. 

"O,   I'm  coming  tu  you  thru   th'   night's  soft 

gloom, 

Senorita  with  velvet  eyes, 
O'er  th'  hill  where  th'  manzanitas  bloom 
Red  as  your  lips  where  my  last  kiss  lies, 
And  the  caballeros  that  crowd  tu  your  feet, 

Mia  amore,  th'  world  may  see, 
And  theirs  is  your  smile  when  th'  daylight  is 

sweet, 
But  your  kisses  are  all  for  me." 

In  the  shadows  of  the  patio  stands  a  maid  with 

velvet  eyes, 

And  the  wanton  breeze  is  playing 
Thru  her  hair  and  softly  saying 
"He  is  coming,  thru  the  safety  of  the  night's  en- 
shrouding skies." 

19 


Mexican  Moonlight 


"O,  he  comes,  tho'  the  canyon  walls  rear  stark, 

Mi,  amor,  mi  corizon, 
And  the  hoofs  of  his  pony  strike  fire  in  the  dark, 

Fire  that  mounts  to  the  purple  dawn. 
My  home  and  my  father  I'm  leaving  for  thee. 

(Why  do  my  frightened  pulses  start?) 
But  love  is  the  master  that  bids  me  flee 

And  answer  the  call  of  my  heart." 

In  the  shadow  of  the  palm-tree  a  menacing  shadow 

creeps 

And  the  maiden's  eyes  are  dreaming 
But  a  dagger-point  is  gleaming 
As  they  wait  within  the  garden  where  the  calla- 
lily  sleeps. 

"O,  he's  coming  to  love,  but  its  death  he'll  find, 

At  the  end  of  my  thirsty  point,  death ! 
And  never  his  brows  with  her  hair  shall  he  bind, 
And  he  never  will  know  the  ghost  of  her 

breath. 
A  gringo  is  not  for  the  blushing  rose, 

Perfect  rose  of  Old  Mexico, 
And  or  ever  the  first  faint  dawn-wind  blows, 
He  will  sleep  the  sleep  of  eternal  snow." 


Mexican  Moonlight 


In  the  shadows  of  the  dawning  lies  a  cowboy,  still 

and  cold, 

On  his  lips  a  smile  of  gladness, 
But  the  maiden's  laugh  is  madness 
And  her  fingers  touch  his  hair,  but  her  face  is  drawn 
and  old. 

"The  garden  flowers  awake  with  the  day, 
But  you  sleep,  tho'  I  touch  your  hair, 
My  father  awakes,  and  you  must  not  stay, 

Tho'  you  smile,  there  is  danger  there. 
I  have  called  you  and  called  you  with  kisses 

of  love, 

Why  are  your  lips  so  dumb? 
And  the  dawning  has  pierced  thru  the  black 

above 
Mi  amor,  O,  why  did  you  come?" 


21 


Mexican  Moonlight 


THE  DESERT 

The  bare, 

Swelling  desert 

Is  like  dull  silver 

Under  the  light 

Of  the  late,  summer  moon. 

The   little   stars 

Are  soft  with  caresses 

And  the  wind  is  laden 

With  priceless  perfumes 

Of  the  south. 

Even  the  far-off  coyote's  cry 

Is  mournful-sweet. 

My  desert-land  is  as  fair 

As  any  woman — 

And  truer! 


22 


Mexican  Moonlight 


ROMANCE  RIDES 

Romance  rides  with  a  foot-loose  rein, 
Over  the  world  and  back  again. 

He  jingles  his  spurs  in  the  twilight's  gloom 
Peopled  with  memories  born  of  a  sigh. 

A  shadow  is  cast  by  his  broad-brimmed  hat 
Over  the  heat  when  the  sun  is  high. 

Whistling  a  tune,  unamazed,  unafraid, 
Facing  the  world  with  a  laugh  in  his  eye, 

Daring  to  love  and  to  hate  as  he  wills, 
Daring  to  live,  and  daring  to  die. 

Ready  the  bark  of  his  blue  six-gun 

Quick  as  his  laugh  or  his  hunting-cry, 

Part  of  the  wind  and  the  unfenced  plains, 
Part  of  the  sea  and  part  of  the  sky. 

Singing  love-songs  to  the  low,  soft  moon; 

Taking  the  trail  that  is  hardest  to  ride, 
Hardest  to  ride,  tho'  it's  blazed  very  clear 

With  a  heart  and  an  arrow  on  either  side. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Over  the  mesa  and  out  of  the  pass 

Down  where  the  canyon  plunges  to  night; 

Out  where  the  sage  and  the  bluebonnets  bloom ; 
Marking  the  curve  of  the  eagle's  flight. 

Over  the  death  of  the  desert's  waste; 

Topping  a  peak  with  a  snow-capped  crest; 
Down  to  the  cool  of  the  forests'  shade; 

Giving  bullet  for  bullet  and  jest  for  jest. 

Scarlet  scarf  in  the  cool  dawn-wind; 

Leather  on  leather  and  rythmical  beat, 
(Echoed  by  whirr  of  the  riata's  loop 

As  it  falls)  of  the  pony's  flying  feet. 

Romance  rides  out  of  the  sunset's  fire 
And  follows  the  trail  of  the  Heart's  Desire. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


THE  BROKEN  STRING 

Brightly-colored  glass  beads. 

But  the  string  has  broken 

And  the  gay  baubles 

Have  scattered  away  over  the  floor 

Uncollectably. 

They  were  my  thoughts  of  you 
Strung  on  the  string 
Of  my  faith. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


IDLE  DUSK 

Do  you  recall  the  idle  dusk  we  sat 

And  watched  the  rising  of  the  old,  red  moon, 

And  listened  to  the  frogs'  and  crickets'  hum 
That  deepened  twilight  stillness  into  gloom. 

The  scent  of  sodden  green  things  in  the  brook 
Commingled  with  crushed  wild-flowers  where  you 
lay. 

A  mocking-bird  sighed  softly,  and  the  bell 
Of  cows,  home-driven  with  the  dying  day 

Struck  deeply.     Night-winds  fanned  thru  the  trees 
That  magic  dusk  turned  into  purple  mist, 

And  high  above  the  one  last  touch  of  day 
Clung  to  the  canyon-crag  the  sun  had  kist. 

Beautiful  things  in  the  woof  of  a  faery  hour 
Peopled  with  thoughts  as  old  and  rare  as  musk. 

How  could  we  know  the  treasure-trove  we  found 
As,  hand  in  hand,  we  dreamed  thru  the  idle  dusk. 


26 


Mexican  Moonlight 


DESOLATION 

Yesterday 

The  wind  chuckled 

Thru  shining  mesquite  trees, 

And  a  mocking-bird 

Sang 

To  a  sunbeam 

That  danced 

On  a  rose. 

But  today 

A  dejected  pony 

Stands, 

Head  down  and  tail-to-wind 

And  there  is  no  sound 

Save  the  desolate  beat 

Of  the  rain, 

And  the  mournful  cry 

Of  a  dove. 

For  yesterday 

You  lived. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


THIS  TIME  LAST  YEAR 

"This  time  last  year"! 
O,  the  magic  phrase,  dear! 

Mysterious  as  "Once  upon  a  time"  and  "Long 

ago." 

Let  us  draw  the  curtains 
And  sit  before  the  fire,  dear, 

And  wander  down  the  pathways  that  we  used 
to  know. 

Crisp  and  frosty  mornings, 
Diamond-studded  tree-tops, 

Shout  and  merry  shout  again  down  the  snowy 

trail. 

Sweet  summer  dawn,  set 
With  dew-entangled  blossoms, 

Hiding  'neath  the  gossamer  of  the  spider's  veil. 

Cherry-blooms  in  Springtime. 
(O,  don't  you  remember?) 

Kiss  and  kiss  returned  again  where  the  petals 

fell. 

Dreaming  thru  the  noonday 
Lost  in  love's  imaginings, 

Calling  down  into  the  depths  of  the  wishing 
well. 

28 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Twilight,   starlit, 

Hand  within  my  hand,  dear, 

Wandering  a-down  the  road,  crisp  with  autumn 

leaves. 

Gold  and  red  and  brown  leaves 
Wavering   around   us, 

Moving  in  the  circle  that  the  west  wind  weaves. 

Raindrops  pattering 

All  along  the  low  eaves. 

(Turn  the  lights  lower  and  watch  the  shadows 

creep.) 

Pattering  a  low  song 
Full  of  home  and  love,  dear, 

Home  and  love  and   lullabies,  and  baby  eyes 
that  sleep. 

"This  time  last  year" 
And  many  happy  years  ago. 

(I  can  see  the  firelight  sparkle  on  your  tears.) 
Sweet  youth,   lost  youth 
Creeping  back  with  twilight, 

Shyly  smiling  at  us  thru  the  dusk  of  years. 


29 


Mexican  Moonlight 


TO  H.  M. 

You  who  loved  the  open  places  so, 

Whose  soul  sang  in  a  sunset  or  a  star, 

The  sleepy  mocking-bird's  belated  note 
Over  the  silvered  desert  quivering  far. 

Magnificently  fearless,  roughly  kind, 

And,  better  than  all  these  things,  serenely  true, 
The  little  night-winds  whisper  that  you  loved, 

Whisper  again  the  tales  they  told  to  you. 

A  gold-brown  butterfly  has  come  with  fall 
And  gold-brown  leaves.    All  is  the  same 

As  it  was  yesterday.     And  these  things  speak 
As  surely  of  you  as  if  they  spoke  your  name. 

Brave  heart!   I  pray  when  you  have  won  the  shore 
Beyond  the  shadow  river,  when  you  face 

That  beautiful  Beyond,  it  will  unroll 

In  blinding  desert-lands  that  stately  pace 

In  purple  folds  to  sunset-crimsoned  skies, 

And  all  the  ghosts  of  winds  from  this  lost  land 

Will  whisper  age-old  tales  in  the  huisache  tree, 
And  a  bridle-bit  will  jingle  'neath  your  hand. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


LA  CASA  GRANDE 

It  is  set  far  back  in  its  rolling,  purpling  lawns, 

And  the  tall,  green  palms 

Reach  up  like  open  hands 

To  caress  its  shadowed  walls. 

The  bold,  lu,sh  flowers  are  so  brilliant 

That,  even  at  night, 

They  glow  and  shine  beneath  the  myriad  stars 

That  whisper  thru  the  gloom. 

The  desert  wind  sighs  secrets  thru  the  trees 

Age-old  secrets  to  the  huisache  tree 

And  broad  bananna  leaves. 

A   frog 

Booms  out  a  bass  accompaniment  to  the  cry 

The  crickets'  chant. 

Far  off 

A  glass  tinkles  and  a  girl 

Laughs  lightly. 

And  the  strum 

Of  a  guitar  and  wailing  of  a  violin 

Croon  "La  Paloma"  to  the  Spanish  night. 

And,  somehow,  on  the  balcony, 

A  shadow  flits. 

A  phantom  hand  lays  light  along  the  stone 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Of  the  great  pillar; 

And  a  dream-ghost  face 

Smiles  out  from  underneath  black,  curling  hair 

Muffled,  O,  ever  so  lightly,  with  the  sheer 

Gossamer  of  a  white  robosa. 

And  she  throws 

A  red  rose  to  a  long-dead  lover's  song. 

The  "Dove  Song"  dies  and  surely  there  is  naught 

Within  the  balcony  save  cobwebbed  dark — 

But  on  the  garden  walk  the  lazy  wind 

Stirs  faded  petals  of  a  dead,  red  rose. 

(For  Lillian) 


Mexican  Moonlight 


WHY 

Why  does  the  crest  of  the  laurel-tree, 

Dim  in  the  twilight, 
Moving  gently  in  desert  winds, 

Wrench  forth  a  sigh, 
And  make  me  wonder,  vaguely 

As  the  soft  night, 
Why  should  God's  beauties  live 

While  we  must  die? 


33 


Mexican  Moonlight 


A  COWBOY  TO  A  WIRE  FENCE 

Yu  onery,  thousand-legged,  skinney  ole  cuss! 

Yu  sure  give  me  one  awful  pain! 
Ef  I  rambled  th'  whole  o'  this  wide-spreadin'  earth 

I'd  run  intu  you  jus'  th'  same. 

Yu  set  thar  a-grinnin' !   I  can't  see  no  joke ! 

Yu  glitter,  fer  miles,  in  th'  sun. 
Now  I  could  wheel  my  pony  an'  leave  yu  behind, 

But  I'd  meet  yu  agin,  on  th'  run. 

Yur  plumb  quiet, — intrudin'  yur  length  on  th'  plains 

They  say  yu  are  better  then  ropes 
An'  horses  fer  herdin'  up  cattle.     It  looks 

Like  they're  right, — an'  thar  ain't  any  hopes. 
I  could  swing  my  riata  'round  one  o'  yur  posts 

An'  drag  yu,  plumb  easy,  tu  hell. 
But  thar's  too  dam  much  of  yu.    It  isn't  no  use. 

Which,  I  recken,  is  just  as  well. 

What  you  think  o'  it,  Broncho?    I  don't  need  tu  ask 
With  yur  ears  an'  yur  head  hangin'  low. 

It  hez  beat  us,  ole  hoss,  at  our  own  game.    I  guess 
Thar  ain't  nuthin'  fer  us — but  tu  go. 


34 


Mexican  Moonlight 


ENVY 

Are  you  awake  to-night,  sweetheart 
While  the  moon  stoops  low  in  the  sky, 

Stoops  like  a  bride  in  a  misty  veil 
While  the  stars  go  whirling  by? 

I  think  I  am  very  envious 

Of  the  moon  and  the  wind  from  the  south 
For  one  may  ruffle  your  hair  to-night 

And  the  other  may  kiss  your  mouth. 


35 


Mexican  Moonlight 


COLOR 

Gold  deserts  and  gold  clouds; 

A  gray  coyote ; 
A  rain-dove,  sighing  low, 

Its  lonesome  note; 

A  black-snake  coils  and  gleams; 

A  cactus-bloom 
Raises  a  scarlet  chalice  o'er  its  thorns 

With  sweet  perfume; 

A  bright  mesquite  tree  waves; 

An  azure  sky; 
And,  reeling  out  against  the  setting  sun, 

Black  buzzards  fly. 


Mexican  Moonlight 


RAJHAM  KHAN'S  SONG 

There  was  a  night  when  you  were  wholly  mine. 

I  swam  in  the  purple  sea  of  your  shining  hair. 
My  kisses  burnt  hot  on  your  lips  that  gave  them 

again, 

For  I  was  the  Strong  and  you,  my  love,  were  the 
Fair. 

O,  many  a  sun  has  set,  and  other  lips 

Have  drunk  their  fill  of  your  full  lips  scarlet  wine, 
But  when  his  love  wearies,  I  pray  you,  remember, 

Sweet, 

That  there  was  a  night  when  your  beauty  was 
wholly  mine. 


37 


Mexican  Moonlight 


"YALLER" 

Thar's  a  cross-roads  in  West  Texas  on  th'  Crawlin' 

River  floor 
And  a  'dobe  shack  squats  down  thar  among  th' 

brush  an'  stones. 
It's  a  place  thet's  most  permiscuous  fer  th'  sort  o' 

general  store 

Thet  is  kep'  by  him  th'  cowboys  hev  cognomened 
"Yaller"  Jones. 

"Yaller"  is  th'  sort  o'  feller  thet  is  small,  an'  awful 

meek, 
With  blue  eyes  thet  seem  tu  be  a-seein'  things  thet 

are  not  there! 
Hez  a  sort  o'  foolish  grin,  an'  tells  yu  "turn  th'  other 

cheek" 

When  yu're  whalloped.     So  th'  nickname  seemed 
tu  fit  him  purty  fair ! 

He's  a  Yankee  frum  New  England.    College  eddi- 

cated !   Say ! 

Perlitest  lil'l  feller  ever  thar  could  be. 
Brought  his  half-a-lung,   fer  savin',  out  Crawlin' 

River  way, 

Tho'   whut   he   got    frum    livin',    us    cowhands 
couldn't  see. 

38 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Once  th'  sheriff  put  a  sign  up  on  "Yaller's"  li'l  door, 
Tellin'  those  who  cared  tu  read  it,  thet  a  two- 
gun  man  wuz  out 
By  th'  name  o'  "Terror"  Johnson,  an'  th'  outfit  thet 

he  wore 

Would  be  worth,  with  him  inside  it,  several  hun- 
dred, thereabout. 

One  dark  night  when  li'l  "Yaller"  wuz  a-readin'  o' 

his  book 
Some  guy  pumped  twelve  six-gun  bullets  at  th' 

middle  o'  th'  door, 
Which,  when  opened,  showed  a  feller  with  a  awful 

nasty  look. 

'Tut   my    letters   on    thet   sign   thar.      Are   yu 
wantin'  any  more?" 

But  when  he  seed  'twas  "Yaller"  he  jus'  laughed 

an'  started  'roun' 
An'  helped   himself,   rambunctious,  tu  whut  he 

wanted  in  th'  place. 
A-throwin'  whut  he  didn't  want,  right  keerless,  on 

th'  ground 

An'  then  he  ended  up  by  slappin'  "Yaller"  in  th' 
face. 


39 


Mexican  Moonlight 


Now   us   boys   hed    laughed   at   "Yaller,"    but    we 

figgered  we  wuz  men, 
An'  o'  course  we  couldn't  hit  him,  'cause  he  wuz 

so   small   an'    weak, 
So  we  never  could  quite  "sabe"  whut  happened  thar 

an'  then 

After  "Yaller"  ups  an'  lets  th'  bad  man  slap  his 
other  cheek. 

He  jus'  smiled  an'  rolled  his  sleeves  up,  moved  th' 

table  an'  th'  chairs 
Sayin',  soft-like,  "Will  you  please  remove  your 

guns,  and  we  will  fight." 

An'  th'  "Terror"  laughed  uproarous,  flinging  cuss- 
words  everywheres, 

But  he  took  his  two  blue  gats  off, — an'  walked 
intu  "Yaller's"  right 

Then  things  happened  rather  startlin',  like  a  locoed 

cyclone  loose, 
An'  "Yaller,"  with  thet  bad  man,  sorta  mussed 

his  place  up  some, 
An'  when  he  hed  him  roped   an'  tied  up,  like  a 

Christmas  goose, 

He  set  down  an'  read  his  bible,  'til  th'  sheriff's 
posse  come. 

40 


Mexican  Moonlight 


When  they  took  him  out  tu  hang  him,  thj  "Terror's" 

last  request 
Wuz  tu  know  how  "Yaller"  done  it.    An'  him, 

standin'  in  th'   door, 
Raised  his  eyes  an'  smiled  so  meekly,  an' — boys,  I'll 

be  blest! 

He  jes'  murmured  "Jiu  jitsu,"  an'  he  wouldn't 
say  no  more. 

"Quien  sabe"  all  th'  meanin'  of  that  funny  li'l  word, 

But  when  I  seen  th'  gizzard  thet  thet  li'l  feller  bed 

Wuz  "Slap-ee"  twict,  an'  then  lit  in  an'  cleaned  th' 

slapper-bird. — 

Well,  someway,  I  guess  a  college  eddication  ain't 
so  bad! 


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